St Austell Fresh Green Futures

A cultural programme to deliver sustainable economic growth to and its hinterland St Austell Bay Economic Forum (SABEF) and Coastal Community team members

Carlyon Bay Development College ; Par, Biscovey and Gate, St Austell Bay, , Bugle Eden Project Imerys Minerals UK Phillips Frith St Austell Bay Chamber of Commerce St Austell Brewery St Austell Business Improvement District St Austell Market House St Austell Printing Company St Austell Town Council St Blaise Town Council White River Place

Project partners include

British Ceramics Biennial Cornishware Caerhays Estate Emma Bridgewater Jenny Beavan Lost Gardens of Heligan National Wildflower Centre, part of the Eden Project Paul Jackson Pinetum Gardens Tregothnan Trewithen Wheal Martyn

Sponsors

The Arts Council Coastal Communities Fund Grow Wild

3 Foreword Fresh Green Futures

By James Staughton To create a sense of a fresh start, St Austell Bay Economic Forum has been working Chair of the St Austell Bay Economic Forum with placemaking consultants thinkingplace to rebrand St Austell. Together we have created a look and feel that shows how the St Austell area is special and competitive. This will help us develop a new story that every organisation and individual across the It is with immense pride that I present an update of our cultural programme to deliver area is part of, and feels able tell. sustainable economic growth to St Austell and its hinterland. The story will help give us focus, ensure we play to our strengths and that we grasp The St Austell area talks with one voice. We are imagining the future and working the opportunities that are in front of us. The work identified three key themes, namely together to realise this dream. Many individuals and organisations are involved in the Green Horizons, Igniting Bright Sparks and Naturally Active, which describe the plans that are laid out in the following pages. essence of St Austell. They will guide how we develop our offer through the way we communicate, what we build, and the environment we create. Our group came together some four years ago and has grown in number, passion and success since then. My sincere thanks go to everyone involved in bringing us to where By 2030 St Austell and its hinterland will be celebrated as a green and ceramic we are today. cultural centre, as a place of innovation and an active theatre. I am in the happy position that the sheer number of people involved now makes it impossible to credit everyone who helps by name; they come from all sectors and industries and all geographical areas within our region. We have two successful Whitegold Festivals behind us, a website launched and ever- growing relationships in the garden and ceramic worlds. St Austell Bay Economic Forum is rising to the challenge of a post-Brexit Cornwall. We recognise that EU funding is now a thing of the past and that as a county we must adjust to this new reality. The Cornish entrepreneurial spirit is alive and well and we intend to harness this spirit into the future; recognising that a critical success factor is to implement sustainable business models in each of our projects. There is still much to do. Our plans are ambitious and will require vision and determination to realise them. This document is a call to action to you, the reader. We ask you to support us, get involved, spread the word and be part of the exciting future of our area.

Photo: Lexisplace Design and Photography 4 5 Igniting Bright Sparks

St Austell’s future is in high-tech, high- value businesses. For our community to prosper and thrive the area must attract and retain young people which means thinking very differently about what will drive the economy and the sort of people who will do this.

Green Horizons

We will bring colour and creativity to the urban core with installations inspired by our surroundings and our collaborations with our partners; innovative ideas that marry ceramics and planting to create a world-first showcase for local and international talent. We will initiate garden twinning on a global level.

6 7 Naturally A Vision for St Austell Bay Active and China Clay

Together with the existing landscape and attractions, St Austell will be home to a range of sports and leisure activities. For the last two years, SABEF has been working on a vision for the area. A programme of works that will create a new USP, improve the public realm, offer the chance to acquire or improve skills, support existing tourism businesses, extend the tourist season and attract inward investment.

We aim to turn the St Austell area into a vast garden featuring stunning ceramic artwork. Alongside our local gardens and artists, we will transform the St Austell area through a programme of cultural initiatives. We have a vision to draw together the Great Gardens located near St Austell (Pinetum Gardens, Caerhays, Trewithen, Heligan and the Eden Project) with ceramic arts to create an urban parkscape across the town and beyond. From giant ceramic exhibits to wildflower corridors, and an annual programme of events and activities we have the opportunity to change the way in which St Austell is perceived locally, nationally and internationally. Using ceramics and horticulture to create public art installations will raise the quality of the built environment and public spaces across the area. China clay – the material that transformed St Austell’s fortunes will be used to create statues, carvings, engravings, paving designs, mosaics, street furniture that will sit next to planting schemes curated by some of the UK’s most popular gardens. Two annual festivals on these themes, The Garden Festival in May and Whitegold Festival in September, will provide an improved sense of place, and community pride, and will complement these permanent exhibitions. This vision for the area will enhance the landscape, transform spaces and stimulate economic growth by attracting new visitors, new investment and make the area an attractive place to live and work. The following pages set out the five-year vision for this cultural regeneration programme.

8 9 St Austell Garden Town

The Garden Route

We will create a spectacular approach to the St Austell Bay area. From the A30 the new Garden Route will draw you through a landscape filled with wildflowers and other exotic plants towards the iconic view across the bay. As you near the town and its great gardens, the Garden Gateways will welcome you; roundabouts and verges will be coloured by high impact plantings and ceramic installations. Local residents will have the opportunity to echo these plantings in their own gardens by using plants from our ‘suitcase’ of local garden staples.

10 11 The Garden Project

The Garden Festival A town in an arboretum The focal point of the year for the garden project will be the Spring Garden Festival, timed to coincide with the spring flowers in our local gardens. St Austell has a green heart to build on; its western side has some wonderful mature The festival will showcase the great estates and gardens that surround the town, trees that will form the basis of the arboretum. We will extend this to the eastern including Heligan, Caerhays, Pinetum and the Eden Project, with experts from each suburbs through a series of curated horticultural displays that will enhance the area on hand to answer questions from budding gardeners and deliver hints and tips on and create new green spaces. how to make your own garden great. Local schools will be invited to participate in gardening competitions. Eastern Greenway Music, fun and entertainment will be the order of the weekend.

From Polmarth Liner Park to the new Garden Village, we will work with the local community to enhance this beautiful green corridor.

Poltair, Road and Cemetery Park

These parks create a ‘green walkway’ from the east of the town to the west. The walkway will incorporate White River Place in the town centre and draw people to the urban focal point of the ceramic installation programme.

Photo: Alex Wheatley. 12 13 The Whitegold Project

Whitegold Art Programme

We are creating a Ceramic Art Programme for the town centre and the china clay area, as well as a partnership ‘clay exchange’ with the ‘Ceramic City’ Stoke-on-Trent. It is a diverse and exciting programme led by local, national and international artists, featuring ceramicists and other artists who create events, exhibitions and installations as well as permanent artwork in public spaces, linking closely with the garden projects. We want to see creative, innovative and active public spaces that use art, craft and design to celebrate both the material of china clay and the culture of the clay country, enhancing its sense of place using clay and other media.

International Ceramics Prize We are planning to launch the first Whitegold Ceramics Prize at the 2018 Festival. The first award will be made in 2019 and will seek to honour innovation in ceramic art. Applications will be open to ceramicists from around in the world and will be the cornerstone of future Whitegold festivals. The successful artist will be invited to showcase their work at the Whitegold festival and be offered a bursary to support their development in St Austell.

14 15 The Website Project The Whitegold Festival

The Whitegold Festival is an annual celebration. Our vision is to The St Austell Bay Website work with artists, makers and designers to celebrate past and will feature all the many present, and create future stories of china clay and the communities excellent businesses, facilities, who live with it, inspiring people in and around the district to visitor attractions and services develop their creative potential and the area’s future sustainability. that we have on offer and will provide a multi-facetted The Whitegold Festival will reach right across the town centre, with destination site of information two main performance and demonstration areas, clay and other for visitors, locals residents craft artists from across Cornwall, and entertainment from street and businesses. performers, jazz bands, dance groups, and brass bands from the clay villages amongst others, continuing the proud heritage of community music-making.

16 17 The transformation What makes St Austell so special

St Austell in numbers

secondary primary 50,000 4 schools 7 schools people 4 35% 25% neighbourhoods of the population of the population in the 20% most economically inactive have no qualifications deprived in

With its world-renowned heritage of china clay mining and local attractions including the world-famous Eden Project Our impact and The Lost Gardens of Heligan, St Austell has an abundance of green £12m 12 miles and white everywhere you look. increase in visitor spend of verges planted with wildflowers

roundabouts sponsored international 8 and planted 1 ceramics prize

18 19 The area has a landscape and attractions that make it the natural place to enjoy a range of outdoor activities.

There is a real need to excite young people about the future and their potential in St Austell; the talent is there it just needs releasing.

20 21 St Austell is integral to How we are organised the success of Cornwall The St Austell Bay Economic Forum (SABEF) is the trading name of the St Austell Bay Community Interest Company. The object of the Company is to carry on activities which benefit the community and The success of St Austell success drives the success of in particular (without limitation) to encourage and foster economic growth and general the county. well-being to benefit the community in St Austell and its surrounding area.

SABEF Projects Delivery Structure We contribute directly to the visions and strategies designed at a county level as follows. The St Austell Bay CIC will be the project applicant and legally accountable body. Steering groups have been set up for each of the three projects. These Steering groups report on a regular basis to the board of Directors of SABEF, who remain accountable for all three projects. Cornwall and Isles of Scilly St Austell area vision and strategy The Steering Groups are made up of appropriately qualified individuals both from within SABEF and the wider community. The Cornwall and Isles of Scilly Vision St Austell will be a place of innovation. Each project will seek to employ a project manager to ensure that a rigorous process By 2030 Cornwall and Isles of Scilly will be home to is put in place to deliver each of the three projects. flourishing businesses providing an outstanding quality The St Austell Bay CIC holds the budget and approves expenditure. The CIC is of life for all. the employer of those involved in the programme and will execute appointments/ contracts with artists and project partners. The Health and well-being strategy St Austell will be an active town. People in Cornwall will live longer, happier, healthier lives and good health and well-being will be everyone’s responsibility.

The environmental growth strategy St Austell will be a green and ceramic cultural centre. In 2065 Cornwall’s environment will be naturally diverse, beautiful and healthy, supporting a thriving society, prosperous economy and abundance of wildlife.

The Cornwall and Isles of Scilly Local Enterprise Partnership recently published the ‘10 opportunities’ prospectus. We are excited by these opportunities and how they are aligned to the St Austell area.

22 Our 2014 November Initial presentation to St Austell journey Town Council on the idea of Clay so far Town and Greening 2015 February June Local groups and individuals invited to St Austell Bay CIC incorporated walk around St Austell Town Centre and particular in the development of ideas

July St Austell Coastal Communities Team October role awarded to SABEF Stoke visit St Austell

2016

September October Clay Town prospectus launched The first Whitegold festival launched 2017 June thinkingplace commissioned June St Austell Greening Vision launched October Second Whitegold Festival 2018 January May Public consultation event on the public arts strategy Greening and Clay Masterplan completed May The St Austell brand launched